The Future of Cars: Electric and Unmanned Technologies

The automotive industry in Senegal is changing a lot! Car manufacturers have accomplished a lot in making vehicles safer. But with a lot of focus on electric and unmanned technologies nowadays, will this also affect the future of car rides? Let’s talk about it.

Electric cars have the potential to the following benefits:

• Improved air quality. These vehicles have zero tailpipe emissions. So, if they become the norm in Senegal, the air quality can improve.
• Reduced fuel costs. Petrol and diesel are largely imported, which is part of the reason they’re so expensive. By reducing the dependency on these power sources, the demand (and therefore, the costs) will decrease.
• Higher energy efficiency. Electric vehicles go farther per charge; they consume less fuel.

These benefits will be most felt in places like Dakar, where there’s a lot more activity in the transportation sector.

But despite these benefits, it may be hard for Senegal to adopt electric cars because of:

• High initial costs for purchase
• Limited facilities for vehicle charging
• No government incentives for switching.

If these go unaddressed, the future of car rides may not change as much.

Even in more developed countries, self-driving cars are far from mainstream. But if they become more common, we may also see them on the roads soon. And here’s what this can mean for the industry:

• Fewer accidents. Automation can help reduce accidents caused by human error.
• Reduced traffic congestion. The vehicles may be able to independently make route decisions based on real-world data to help avoid traffic.
• Better accessibility. Ride-hailing in the future may not involve a person at all. The vehicle will just be sent to the location, no matter how remote, so the passenger can get on.
• Making “driving” easier. There may not be a lot of driving that needs to be done. Just pushing a few buttons may be enough.

But remember, these benefits of using self-driving cars assume that manufacturers perfected car automation technologies. Since we’re not there yet, you may not see these benefits even if these vehicles are readily available.

Right now, self-driving cars are far from perfect. They can’t replace the ability of human drivers to analyze everything happening on the road and take all those into account when making a split-second safety decision. Using car automation also requires strong connectivity, which Senegal unfortunately doesn’t have right now.
And while there are no laws preventing you from using it, every vehicle right now requires a driver. So, if the car damages property while using this feature, you’ll still be at fault.

A major concern for drivers is what place they will have in the future of car rides if these technologies come into the picture. If automation really gets to that level, it’s possible that the transportation sector won’t need drivers as much anymore. Of course, this is assuming that Senegalese laws will approve it. But with the switch to electric and unmanned technologies, the country may need expertise in AI programming and EV maintenance. Jobs in the renewable energy sector may also emerge.

Below, see how self-driving and electric cars compare to traditional vehicles:

Even though fuel costs and carbon emissions are high for traditional vehicles, they’re still the most common in Senegal. Right now, there simply is limited infrastructure in place for the emerging technologies.

What the future of car rides will look like will depend on a lot of things. This includes the affordability of the newer technologies and the availability of infrastructure to make them work. Ride-hailing in the future may look different from what we see today. But from what we’re seeing, there are no huge immediate changes that will cause a sudden shift in what the industry looks like.